Academy Notebook: Update on 16s, 18s

Hausen, as he led the Quake Academy 16s to a pair of draws against tough division foes, a 2-2 battle with Seattle, and a 1-1 decision versus Portland. Hausen scored two of the team’s three goals over the weekend to bring his team-leading total to 13 on the season.

Saturday at the Morgan Hill Soccer Complex, Remi Prieur took to the net to try and improve the Quakes’ postseason chances against the second-seeded Seattle Sounders. Seattle sits just ahead of San Jose in the standings, both of them right on the heels of division-leading Vancouver. Pablo Gervacio got San Jose on the board with his 5th goal of the season in the 10th minute before Seattle bounced back to score the next two goals; the second coming just after the half to give the Sounders the 2-1 advantage.

Following the 51st-minute goal, the defense and Prieur tightened up and locked down the Seattle attack. But Seattle also boasts one of the best defenses in the league as well, allowing less than one goal per game this season. The Sounders have given up just 17 goals in their 22 matches, so giving up a third would’ve doomed the Quakes’ comeback chances.

As the match drew close to the final whistle, Hausen found the back of the net for the equalizer in the 82nd minute to steal a point from their bitter rival. The tie may have locked up the other playoff spot from the division for the Sounders as they have three matches in hand on the Quakes, who have just a single match left moving forward.

Sunday’s showdown with Portland took place on the campus of San Jose State University and, again, it was Hausen providing the punch for the Quakes’ offense. Hausen’s goal in the 36th minute tied the match at 1-1 and provided San Jose another hard-fought point from a division foe. Sunday also saw a pair of dynamos from the U14 squad get some action with a higher level of competition. Kaya Fabbretti and Ivan Valencia have combined to score 51 goals in 21 games for the Quakes’ dominant 14s side that hasn’t lost since November.

The 16s will face off with San Juan Soccer Club on Saturday, May 10 at 4 p.m. at Cal State East Bay in Hayward. This will be the final regular-season tuneup before San Jose heads into the wildcard pool as one of the top seeds. They currently sit 5th in the wildcard standings with a chance to move up or down a handful of spots depending on the teams around them. The Quakes are currently the only Northwest Division team in the wildcard pool, with Crossfire Premiere sitting just on the outside looking in. San Jose dropped San Juan 2-1 back on Nov. 9.

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The 18s dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions, falling victim to first-place Seattle on Saturday and to the Portland Timbers on Sunday. Elisama Padilla was dialed in over the weekend, scoring three of the four Quakes goals against their division rivals. Seattle hasn’t dropped a match since the Winter Showcase in Florida way back in December, winning 9 and tying once.

JT Marcinkowski shut out the high-powered Seattle offense through the first half of play in Morgan Hill on Saturday, and Padilla staked San Jose to an early lead. Padilla wasted no time at all getting things going, scoring his 7th goal of the year in the first minute of the match. He added another just before the half to give San Jose a 2-0 advantage heading into the break. The Sounders average three goals a game and they would reach that number with a second-half flurry. The three-goal outburst from Seattle keeps them just in front of Vancouver and De Anza for the division crown; only two of those three will make the playoff draw, with the the other likely the top-seeded wildcard team.

Sunday’s match was a heartbreaker, as both sides matched quality effort and the offense of their opposition before Portland got the game-winner 5 minutes into stoppage time. Again, it was Marcinkowski in net, and again Padilla provided some offensive pop. Macario Hing-Glover scored the first goal for San Jose, an equalizer in the 43rd minute to even the match at 1-1. The goal was Hing-Glover’s 8th of the season, good for second on the team behind Padilla.

Coming out of the half knotted at 1-1, Padilla gave the Quakes the 2-1 lead with his 9th of the season and third of the weekend. Just a handful of minutes later, Portland evened the match again, this time at 2-2. In what seemed like an eternity of stoppage time, Portland was able to sneak one last shot past Marcinkoski to steal the match.

The 18s will also finish their regular-season on May 10 at Cal State East Bay at 1:30 p.m. against the San Juan Soccer Club. San Jose handed San Juan a 4-2 defeat back in November at the Mather Sports Complex.